Michal Witkowski

Michał Witkowski (born 1975) is well established as a novelist in Poland, known for his unabashed descriptions of the Polish gay underground, which broke barriers in a country still emerging from the repression of the communist past. His first novel Lubiewo remains his most successful, and has been published in many languages including English (as Lovetown, Portobello Books, 2010). Before The Lumberjack he published a set of short stories, and two other novels, Margot andBarbara Radziwiłłówna, though these have not appeared in English. The Lumberjack has been very well received in Poland and became a bestseller.

In December 2011 Witkowski came third in a list of Poland’s top ten best novelists under the age of 40 issued by the leading daily Gazeta Wyborcza. Witkowski has often appeared on Polish television, and is quite a controversial figure in Poland. He is also very popular, and has had great success with stage versions (monologues) of his novel Barbara Radziwiłłówna, as well as with his own audio recordings of his other novels. He lives in Warsaw.